In this caricature James Gillray makes fun of the supposed complications of using the cowpox vaccine to prevent patients from getting the smallpox. Several people are shown having cows emerge from their hands, mouths, or buttocks, or develop horns that sprout from their heads. This is obviously not a very safe vaccine!

The Cow-Pock – or – the wonderful effects of the new inoculation. James Gillray. 1802. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Spring 2020  |  Sections  |  Infectious Diseases